


The Immortal and The Alpha

by Schizojuc



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 03:39:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2413610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schizojuc/pseuds/Schizojuc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A world where shifters called Gens are facing a wipeout of their kind due to a mutation. In order to save their species, they need to retrieve a rare element that can provide the necessary inoculation. However no shifter can survive the Chasm where the element can be found. Eames, the Alpha of the Narigens, searches for and finds the one person who can help - an orphan thief who cannot die and who cannot stop sniping at his dead sister.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Immortal and The Alpha

**Author's Note:**

> Please read this at your own risk as this is a one-shot. I just had to get the idea out of my head but I am not sure when inspiration would next hit.
> 
> A big thank you to my lovely beta reader, Marilyn aka foxriverinmate on A03!

The thing that Arthur hated the most when someone tried to kill him was that they never succeeded. Not that he was suicidal or anything. It was just that his would-be killers made things very uncomfortable and inconvenient for him. Like where he was right then – buried under what he presumed was 6 feet of soil. Being buried alive was the worst way to pseudo die. It itched in the worst way because of all the weird insects that were in there with him. Plus being bitten was not fun either but at least he would heal from the wounds within minutes.

 

Yes, being buried alive was the worst. Because at least when they tried to drown him, he could pretend to die and then after the assailants have left, he could just get out of the water. Even being pushed from a tall building was not so bad because he just had to wait for about a minute before his bones mended and he could walk away quickly enough. Being shot was best though because then he could run with the bullets still in him. But being buried alive…such a pain in the ass.

 

“Time to start digging,” he muttered to himself.

 

It took about an hour because the bastards also tied up his hands. Fortunately they tied his hands to his front rather than the back. That saved him time. By the time his hands pushed through the topsoil and into cool air, he had already plotted his revenge and how he was going to find the assholes and relieve them of their most precious cargoes. They couldn’t be too hard to find. The two thugs who had grabbed him outside the bar had carried the mark of Narigen and everyone knew where that pack liked to hang out at least every full moon.

 

_“You say that like it would be easy to get into that place. We are talking about Narigens. You know, the ones that picked you up like a piece of lint?”_

 

“Shut up, Ari.”

 

_“Just saying, Arty.”_

 

Arthur ignored her and continued to push the soil aside until he could finally pull his torso out.  He was about to start pushing the rest of the soil aside to free his bottom half when he heard it.

 

“So it’s true.”

 

Arthur looked to his right, startled. Fuck.

 

A man sat on a chair, propped right beside the grave that had been meant for Arthur. One foot rested on the other knee and one arm was drawn back, resting atop the back of the chair. Black shirt, black pants and shiny black shoes. Tawny hair, glittering eyes and one heck of a mouth. Arthur spared a thought for how attractive the man was before he mentally cursed as he recognized who he was seeing. Everyone who had ever lived in Sector 1 knew who he was.

 

Arthur was screwed.

_“And not in the good way, Arty.”_

 

“Shut up, Ari,” Arthur muttered.

 

The man cocked an eyebrow at Arthur before he gestured to the men standing beside him – the thugs who had grabbed him in the first place. Unceremoniously, they grabbed Arthur by an arm each and pulled him free from the very burial plot they had put him in, in the first place. He was maneuvered to stand right in front of the man.

 

 _“His name is Eames.”_ Ari helpfully provided.

 

“I know that! Shut up!” Arthur hissed.

 

Eames frowned. “I was told you were a bit of a nutter. Is this what they meant?”

 

Arthur kept quiet until one of the lumbering trees holding him shoved at him.

 

“Answer the Alpha!” Tree Number 1 growled.

 

Arthur glared at him before looking at the leader of the Narigen pack.

 

“No idea what you are going on about, dude.”

 

That pouty mouth widened into a smile. Damn, why were all the good looking ones jerks?

 

_“I know right? They are all either jerks or gay or taken. Really sucks for us hetero girls.”_

 

“Would you shut up for a second, Ari? I am busy right now,” Arthur said in exasperation.

 

Eames stopped smiling and frowned in concentration.

“Ari. Ariadne? Your sister who…”

 

“Look, dude. As much as I enjoy shooting the breeze with you in a fucking cold cemetery with worms and insects still crawling out of my hair…thank you by the way for the burial….I would really appreciate it if you just cut to the chase and tell me what you want with me since you went to all the trouble of getting your goons to grab me, bury me and then sat there for probably an hour or so to watch me…which is one hell of a psychopathic fetish, if you ask me. So you’ve seen my parlour trick. Now what? Because let me save you some time. No, I don’t know why I cannot die. No, I don’t know any magic or curse that made me this way. No, I don’t know how I can transfer my quote unquote power to you. No, drinking my blood won’t help. I had a vampire try that and then get staked anyway. Nor would bathing in my blood or drinking my jizz, though I admit that second one was fun all around. So yeah, I am an odd bird but too bad so sad, my oddity dies with me whenever that is. Got it?”

 

Eames just stood there watching him for more than a long minute. Arthur knew because he was already counting to 67.

 

Finally Eames smiled and stepped forward till there was barely an inch between them. He took his time to give Arthur a deliberate onceover.

 

“You look like a tyke but you’ve quite the mouth on you, haven’t you, Arthur? And the bollocks to speak to an Alpha that way.”

 

“Well, I beg your pardon, my lord majesty holiness! I can’t help it when those said ‘bollocks’ are freezing!” Arthur snapped.

 

_“Arty, will you behave?”_

“He started it!”

 

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed before he shook his head as if dismissing a thought.

“Well then. Come along, Arthur. Like you said, it’s a fucking cold cemetery. Let’s get something to eat and drink. Perhaps you’d also like to have a shower and change into something comfortable. Then…” Eames’ eyes flashed gold.

 

Arthur swallowed. He had not had the ‘pleasure’ of dying by Alpha bite yet and he was in no hurry to tick that off his bucket list.

 

“Then we can chat,” Eames finished with a grin and turned to walk away.

 

Lumbering Trees 1 and 2 almost lifted Arthur off the ground as they pulled him to follow their leader.

 

 _“Not your usual dose of trouble huh, Arthur,”_ Ari piped in.

 

“No, Ari. Guess the Spirits thought I was due for some excitement,” Arthur muttered as he allowed himself to be dragged.

 

**

 

The moment Eames entered his office, Yusuf followed him in.

 

“We got the intel from Sector Frontline. Pambugen, Puligen and Kalugugen are holding ground as well. Kalugugen tried the technology route again but it went as well as our attempt did last year. The drones never made it back.”

 

Eames snorted in humour. “You’ve got to give those bastards credit for optimism if not for their brains.”

 

“Well, with less than a month left before the Purge, everyone’s getting desperate.” Yusuf replied then added, “Even our pack.”

 

“Perhaps the solution is finally here.”

 

“You found the guy? Is he legit?” Yusuf asked, eagerly.

 

Eames nodded. “Buried more than hour. Dug his way out, hardly out of breath. The information was correct. The Immortals do exist, it seems.”

 

Yusuf laughed in joyful surprise. “I can’t believe it. It’s true? Fuck! This is…this changes everything.”

 

Eames nodded.

 

Yusuf looked at his leader in disbelief. “Why aren’t you grinning your face off? I would have though you would have gone hyper by now.”

 

Eames smiled. “I’m feeling more hopeful, Yusuf, but I’d rather not count my pack before the birthings are over. The man doesn’t seem all there.”

 

“What do you mean? We knew he was crazy.”

 

“I was expecting a different kind of crazy.”

 

“Who knows really what kind of crazy Immortals are,” Yusuf said with a shrug. “He’s the first we’ve met.”

 

“I don’t think he even knows he’s an Immortal. He knows he can’t die but not his origins. Also he keeps talking to someone called Ari. The file we have on him shows only one person who was called Ari. I think he’s talking to his sister, Ariadne.”

 

Yusuf frowned. “The one that’s supposed to have died in that orphanage fire?”

 

“I think so.”

 

“So he’s crazy in the sense he talks to a dead person. So?”

 

“So I wonder if he knows she’s dead. If we are going to send him into the Chasm, we need to make sure he’ll come back with what we need. If he’s mentally unstable, we’re all buggered.”

 

Yusuf exhaled in frustration and threw his hands up in the air. “Of course. We finally find one of the Immortals and there’s a high chance he’s a loon. Why not? It’ll be too easy otherwise!”

 

Eames smiled.

“Don’t lose hope, Yusuf. I’m just considering the worst case scenario. Let me talk to him and we’ll have more information.”

 

“Where is he?”

 

“Settling in. He doesn’t know it yet but he’s our long term guest.”

 

“Just work your magic, Eames. Only you can do this. Until then we just have to keep our fingers crossed that Pambugen, Puligen and Kalugugen don’t find out what we’re up to or worse, find Immortals of their own.”

 

**

 

“Did you have a good meal?”

 

If Arthur had relaxed his guard at all since he had first crawled out of his early grave, he might have jumped at the voice of the Alpha. Instead, he had been expecting a visit ever since he had been shown to the stylish ensuite room. He had taken his shower and eaten the steak dinner with eyes and ears peeled for intrusion.

 

“Sure. Always wanted to try a steak,” Arthur said as he pushed away his plate.

 

Eames’ eyebrows raised in seeming surprise. “You’ve never had steak?”

 

“Excuse you, your privilege is showing,” Arthur said with a sneer.

 

“My apologies. Not many steak dinners in the orphanage I presume.”

 

Arthur exhaled with irritation. “Ok, how the hell do you know so much about me? I’m not that active in social media.”

 

“You move around in Narigen territory and you think you can remain anonymous? Excuse you, your naiveté is showing, Arthur.”

 

“I though you guys had bigger fish to fry than a run of the mill thief.”

 

“Oh no, my darling. You’re hardly run of the mill,” Eames said with a smile. “Tell me, Arthur. Have you ever wondered why you can’t die?”

 

“Shove your patronisation up your ass, Alpha.”

 

_“Arty, mind your manners. He may not be able to kill you but he can make your life miserable.”_

 

“Shut up, Ari. He started it first.”

 

Eames suddenly caught Arthur’s chin in a hand. “You keep talking to Ari. What does she say?”

 

Arthur jerked out of his grasp. “Nothing good.”

 

“Do you see her as well as hear her, Arthur?”

 

“You can’t see a spirit, Alpha. Did they not teach you that in Alpha school?”

 

“So you do know she’s dead then,” Eames said softly.

 

“You seem to have read my biography. You tell me.”

 

Eames sighed deeply and moved to sit opposite Arthur at the table.

                    

“Perhaps we should start over again, Arthur. My name’s Eames and I’m the Alpha of Narigen. Narigens rule Sector 1, the biggest sector of Katu. Sector 2 is ruled by Pambugen, Sector 3, Puligen and Sector 4, Kalugugen.”

 

Arthur groaned aloud. “Seriously? You’re going to teach me ancient history?”

 

“That’s all the ‘history’ that you know. What you don’t know is that the Purge is coming. Unless of course you know what the Purge is.”

 

“What our feline friends do to get out a hairball?”

 

“The Purge happens every thousand years according to scriptures. A disease that affects only Gens. The last Purge almost wiped out all Gens. In fact if it wasn’t for the sanctuary provided by a special group of people, there might not be any Gens now.”

 

“A loss I’m sure,” Arthur sneered.

 

“Wouldn’t it be? Wasn’t it Gens who ran the orphanage you grew up in? Wasn’t it Gens who raised you?”

 

Arthur glared at Eames. “Yes. It was also Gens who burned the fucking place down.”

 

“Bad apples in every species, I’m afraid.”

 

Arthur just snorted in reply so Eames continued.

 

“The next Purge, according to our scientists’ calculations, is in 27 days. Cosmic alignment supports it too. When the alignment is right, we expect terrestrial upheavals which will trigger mutations in Gens. The wipeout will begin then.”

 

“Too bad. Guess you better enjoy the time you have. I suggest sex, drugs and rock and roll,” Arthur offered with a grin.

 

_“Geesh, Arty. You are being a prick.”_

 

“I’m not! Anyway, he is just yabbering on about stuff that has got nothing to do with me, Ari!”

 

Eames watched Arthur closely. “What does Ari say about your flippancy about an upcoming genocide?”

 

Arthur bristled. “Look. I’m sorry your kind might die out. Even if you might deserve it, your kids don’t. But what the hell do you want me to do about it? I told you. I can’t pass my powers to you. So what do you need me for?”

 

“We don’t need your powers. We need your help.”

 

“Help. Help with what?”

 

“How much do you really know about yourself, Arthur?”

 

“Do you really need me to play the orphan card again? Cut the crap and just tell me what you are obviously gagging to show off that you know about me,” Arthur snapped, noting his racing heartbeat. Something told him he was finally going to get answers to questions he had learned to ignore for a long time.

 

Eames leaned forward, crossing his forearms on the table.

 

“You’re an Immortal. As in your people are of an ancient clan that lived on Kathu long before Gens even came into being. Immortals have long been thought to have disappeared from Kathu. They cannot die so various scientists believe they left Kathu for another planet. But we’ve long heard whispers that not all Immortals left. Either that or that they still return to Kathu from time to time. No proof though…until we began to hear stories and see YouTube clips about the boy who would not die.”

 

“Fuck this age of smartphones,” Arthur groused. “So I’m an Immortal? Abandoned on Kathu? Sorry, but sounds kind of like a rip-off of Superman.”

 

“Art often mimics life, be it deliberately or not.”

 

“So, again, how am I to help you Gens?”

 

“The Purge has been expected and prepared for, for a long time. All Gen packs have had the best minds studying how to avoid it. Only a year ago, scientists from my pack discovered that with a certain tweaking of our DNA, we can prevent the mutations. The mutations that’ll be set off by the cosmic alignments can be inoculated against with a unique element in our bloodstream.”

 

“Hurray for you. So what’s the problem?”

 

“The element, Minumite, can only be found at certain temperatures and pressures. By the scientists’ calculations, the likely location is the Chasm.”

 

“The Chasm? That fucking bottomless hell-hole on the front lines? Boy, the Spirits sure must hate you Gens.”

 

“Perhaps it may have seemed so in the past but no longer. Now we have the means to go into that hell-hole and bring back the element.”

 

“Then why not…oh…shit,” Arthur stared at the other man. “You’re talking about me, aren’t you?”

 

“You can’t die so you can trek into the Chasm and bring back the element.”

 

Arthur stared at the Alpha.

 

“Are you fucking crazy? I may not die but I sure as hell can feel pain – especially the pain of having my fucking skin burned off!”

 

“But you’ll stay alive long enough to be able to locate the Minumite and get it back up to the surface. And you’ll heal. You did after the fire at the orphan….”

 

Arthur would swear later that it was a reflex as he could not even remember striking out and punching the Alpha. The Alpha’s head rocked back and stayed there for a few seconds. Then the next thing Arthur heard was a loud snarl and saw a whirlwind quick shift. He fell backwards off his chair, pinned to the floor by almost two hundred pounds of snarling Narigen.

 

“ _Way to go, Arty. Now you get to cross this off your bucket list_ ,” Ari sniped.

 

Arthur just winced and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain. Instead all he felt was hot breath against his face. Opening one eye, he saw the golden eyes of Eames in wolf form staring into his. As he watched, the Alpha shifted back to his human form but did not move off Arthur.

 

“You really shouldn’t aggravate a Gen in that way, darling. We’re, after all, animals by nature. Our instincts are to maim first and ask questions later. Sure, you can’t die but trust me when I say I can make you hurt endlessly. Understood?”

 

Arthur swallowed against the fear and just glared at the Alpha. “That makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re basically saying I should agree to go through endless pain in the Chasm to avoid endless pain with you. Yeah, quick, sign me up.”

 

Eames smiled as he ran a finger from Arthur’s hairline, over his cheeks to his chin and rested on his lips.

 

“That’s not what I am saying at all, darling. We can make a deal. Help us and we not only provide you with cutting edge equipment and narcotics that can go a long way to help someone like you reduce pain even when burning but also more money than you ever imagined stealing. With the element, we’re not just talking about the riches of Narigen but all the Gens. Think about all the places you will be welcome as the savior of Gens?”

 

“Alright, stop. You had me at more money than I can imagine. Now can you get off me?”

 

Eames grinned as he moved away but not before, it seemed, ensuring as much friction as possible.

 

_“Down, Arty boy.”_

“Shut up, Ari,” Arthur muttered, trying to look unflustered.

 

Arthur pushed aside the hand that Eames offered and stood up on his own, adjusting his t-shirt and jeans.

 

“Fine, I’ll help you. But there’re going to be rules.”

 

Eames learned back against the table and gestured for Arthur to go on.

 

“Rule 1, you mention the orphanage fire again, and I don’t care what you are capable of. My reflexes are going to punch you. Agreed?”

 

Eames silently watched Arthur until Arthur thought he was going to push the matter.

 

“Agreed. And I apologise for bringing up painful memories.”

 

Arthur blinked in surprise at the apology.

 

“Whatever. Rule 2, I want a blood pact in front of your pack that you’ll pay me what we agree you will pay me. I need insurance.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Okay. Rule 3, I want access to all materials you have on these Immortals you mentioned. Every single piece of information.”

 

“You’re curious about your heritage.”

 

“Yes or no?”

 

Eames tilted his head. “Yes.”

 

“Okay then. We have a deal. Or we soon will after the blood pact.”

 

“I’ll call for the meet for tomorrow morning.”

 

“Great. So can I go now?”

 

“Go? Go where?”

 

“We have a deal. Trust me, I won’t go back on it. Besides, like you said. Not likely I can escape from Narigens in their own sector. So let me sleep in my own bed.”

 

“I’m afraid not, darling. You see, you’re valuable to all Gens but not all Gens are as willing to share as Narigens. Every Gen sector is in a race against time to get the inoculation. However, good old politics is one thing that will never be extinct. If certain Gen sectors get the element, they’d rather see the rest of their kind die off than share. As such, you need to be guarded and the safest place for you is right here.”

 

“So I’m a prisoner?”

 

Eames pretended surprise. “Not all, darling! You’re a treasure.”

 

Arthur laughed. “Seriously?”

 

Eames reached out a hand and thumbed the corner of Arthur’s mouth.

“Seriously.”

 

Arthur stopped laughing. Eames smiled as he stepped away and headed towards the door.

 

“You’re free to move around any where in this building but please don’t leave. As much as we’ve eyes and ears everywhere, some dangers are invisible. Have a good night, Arthur.”

 

The door closed, leaving Arthur alone in the room.

 

_“Wow, Arty. Is it me or did it just get hot in here?”_

 

“Shut up, Ari.”

  

**

 

 


End file.
